SNC Veteran Spotlight: Lindsey
May 16, 2019
This month, we introduce you to Lindsey. She began serving our country as part of the Nevada National Guard—teaching the next generation of service personnel at Beale Air Force Base. Lindsey is immeasurably proud to continue that service here at SNC, where she now works diligently to keep SNC systems and technologies safe on the corporate Cybersecurity team.
We sat down with Lindsey to find out how her time in the military sparked her passion to work at SNC and how this company's strong veteran workforce has made it feel like home.
Tell us about your time in the military.
I started in the Nevada National Guard in 2009 as an Airborne Sensor Operator. I flew for a couple years; basically, we practiced looking for IEDs. We identified areas where there might be nefarious activity and communicated with the ground forces. Unfortunately, we lost funding for our program so I became a Geospatial Analyst. It was similar to what I was doing in the air, except I was now analyzing imagery from a desk.
I transferred over to Beale Air Force Base, and taught the active duty how to be geospatial analysts. A lot of people who came to the program thought all we did was look at pictures. But what they didn't always think about [were the high stakes] — If we gave inaccurate information, we could easily compromise a mission for our people on the ground and potentially cause a loss of life. I emphasized to my students that it wasn’t a game and it wasn’t something we could grow complacent with. I didn't care whether you were an airman or a chief. It was important that everyone understood the importance of what we were doing and why.
I'm really passionate about serving.
So, how did you find your way to SNC?
I'd known about SNC since the Intel world. When I first looked up the company, [it was obvious that] patriotism was a core value. I figured any company that supports our troops aligns exactly with what my family stands for. And so, I decided I would do anything to get my foot in the door – be a custodian, whatever. I saw an internship pop up and thought, okay I'll go back to school; I just want to be there.
I got a position in HR, which is a wonderful family and a great opportunity to see all sides of the business. But, I had always thought I would be in the military – and the intelligence field – for the rest of my life. I didn’t realize there was a civilian component that analyzed data and intelligence, so I thought my dream of continuing on this path was gone.
Fortunately, when I was talking to some people in security I learned this intelligence and analytical component does exist– you just don’t see it or hear about it because they do their job so well. I realized this was the world I came from, and I really missed it. As soon as there was an opportunity [available in Cybersecurity], I took it. As we say in our family, always say yes if something calls to you. So now, I'm doing everything I loved about serving in the intelligence community.
What does it mean to you that 25% of the people at SNC are veterans?
There are so many veterans at SNC and as soon you meet someone who served, there's an instant family connection. You know other people have been in the same situation as you. Also, there’s the same sense of humor, which sounds silly to say but some things you only get if you’ve been in the military. It’s a really small world, too! I actually met some people here that I supported in the military.
You can really feel that 25% of the people here at veterans by the way we are structured. Our culture. That respect. That discipline. That chain of command, and the way people respect it. That's something I think most military can respect and they automatically respond to. I'm giving you a task, get it done.
But above all it really is a brotherhood. My husband deployed last year – and the Security team gave me so much support when they found out. They reached out to me and said how are you doing, how are your kids. That’s just their character, to take care of their own. They had no obligation to help me; I wasn’t even in their department. This team truly cares and if they know something is going on in your life, they will step in and take that burden away from you (or at least give you some comedic entertainment).
They are a family to me and you can’t replicate that.
Why does the work Cybersecurity does feel so important?
What we do at SNC is so very unique. We are at the forefront of developing new technology, and things that make an impact. It would be very silly not to protect that information, to ensure it stays within SNC. You read about the breaches that occur at different organizations. Because they essentially gave away their information, they could have lost precious technology which means they could lose their edge. So, the Cyber team is persistently monitoring our systems to see if anything is happening or changing. We take a proactive approach and instead of waiting for an attack to occur, we focus on when and how it will happen in our environment and how we will prevent it.
It has been amazing to be able to pull my experience from the military when looking for the next threat! Cyber security is invisible if it’s working well.
What's something about the team you'd like others to know?
It is a partnership. The entire team was brought together to think about the future, to build more camaraderie, and to decide where our focus will be next.
We want to help all the business areas. We want to protect our information, the sensitive projects everyone has worked so hard to create, and the programs everyone is supporting and maintaining. So help us help you.
It’s our job to make sure you don’t have to worry about anything because the organization is protected.
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Did you know nearly 25% of SNC employees are veterans? SNC supports hiring veterans—clearly—but we are particularly proud to see when they thrive here. To honor the men and women who have served, each month we will spotlight veterans who are SNC employees. We’ll highlight what drove them to serve our country, what attracted them to join SNC, and what wisdom they have to share. Find out more about working with SNC: sncorp.com/careers/veterans